Kiss My Knits!

So I had heard that Futurama would be coming to Comedy Central in 2008, but I had no idea it was coming in this format – and in November! New Futurama in November? Why was I not informed!? It’s like there’s some secret nerd mailing list that I neglected to sign up for.

This news is fantastic. It’s a good note to end on as I get ready for bed. I quote Hermes: “I’m gonna go home and relax, the traditional, Jamaican way – a glass of warm milk and a good night’s sleep.”

I posted this on Ravelry and in , but didn’t want to put it up here until it got to its recipient.

I made Samantha’s Baby Trek Washcloth as a little thank you for , who kindly shared her hotel room with me for the final night of Simucon so I didn’t have to leave early. Yay!

Left is the washcloth head-on. Lightly blocked, it came out to 9″x9″ almost exactly. Lily Sugar ‘n’ Cream, size 6 needles, per the pattern. In the slant-wise pic to the right, you can see the garter stitch pattern even better. Because it’s garter stitch, it shows up against the reverse purl side as well.


The written instructions were perfect, but the author mentioned that she’d used a chart, and I thought this could do with one, so I had a go at it. It ain’t professional looking, but it’ll do. I ran it past Samantha, who says it’s fine to distribute, so there you have it. Her blog is http://milotis.wordpress.com/ . Obviously, clicking on the little picture will bring up a larger one. Set phasers to “purl!”

If you’re playing along with http://www.dundermifflininfinity.com/ , I apparently got 15 people to sign up with me, but I wasn’t the first to get 15 people to sign up. At least, that’s what I think the message I got means. So before I settle for employee status, I’m going to try again to be a regional manager. If you haven’t joined up yet, or if you want to reapply to my branch, here are the details.

I’ve applied for regional manager of the Canton, OH branch. Because really, don’t we all want to be the hero of Canton?

My code is qnq20b0h55 .

Fact: in 2001, Ohio had 128 sightings of black bears.
Fact: Ohio is a major growing area for beets.

Question: Where do you belong?
Answer: Canton!

“Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica. Buckeyes.”

Emily’s flower sweater
Pattern: Modified Drop Shoulder from Ann Budd’s Knitter’s Handy Book of Sweater Patterns
Yarn: Encore worsted – 2 sk (plus about ten extra yards) blue, 1 sk green. Odds and ends of pinks and purples for flowers
Needles: Size 7. Size 6 for neck and waist ribbing.
Details under cut.

Ah, I love it when I get to open up a new ink pad for my stamps. They’re so crisp and strong. It’s the little things in life.

A rush of kit orders meant that I ran out of padded mailers, so I had to purchase some from Office Depot. I’ve ordered more of the recycled kind that I like. Again, it’s the little things in life.

ETA: By the way, we’re up to more than 700 hats and kits sold now. Browncoats, represent! That deserves an icon!

When we were deciding what Steve might like for his birthday, after much thought, Emily decided he should have a shirt. We went shopping, and this was the shirt. THE shirt. Nothing would bring her around to another shirt.

I think Emily probably went for it because it was a green polo, which Steve does wear, and because it had a horse on it, which she loves. But folks, if I were going to pick a shirt that was the exact opposite of anything my husband might wear, it would be this shirt. The bright orange, the big logo, the deliberately ragged sleeves, the 3 on the sleeve… if Steve had an evil, more preppy twin, this would be his uniform. AND it was originally $90! $90! For that! Thank God it was more than half off because it’s out of season. My girl has expensive tastes! Next time I’m taking her to Goodwill to shop.

However, I have no room to talk. I once got my father a neck chain made out of tiny golden naked ladies. I don’t think I realized they were naked. My mother gently tried to talk me out of it, but this was clearly the best present for him, at least in my eyes. And so, my mother paid for it and we gave it to Dad. He didn’t say a word, because like a good father, he knew it was the thought that counted. It’s like the circle of life, isn’t it?

This is the card that Emily made for Steve. Clicking on it will bring up a larger version, which I have labeled. I particularly like the way she included comic book elements to the “pop” graphic.

Emily was really, really anxious about the flame on the candle and told us she wanted to lock herself in the bedroom while we lit it and blew it out. She hasn’t been this nervous in years gone by, but the last few birthdays she’s been more and more concerned about fire. She thinks we’re going to have an accident and burn the house down. Alternately, we might burn ourselves down, and she wants well away from that. We’re not taking her with us in our madness, thank you!

In the end, we forewent the candle and each had a cupcake. Steve’s a good sport, and a good dad.

I’m postponing my morning walk a bit. When we woke up this morning at 6:15, weather.com said it was 57 degrees. An hour later, it was 55 degrees. I turned on the attic fan to bring in some of that cool air, but I kept it on too long and now it’s downright nippy in here. Fall is definitely in the air!

Since the weather’s turned, I’m glad Emily’s sweater is making progress. Yesterday I blocked the individual pieces. Last night, I seamed one shoulder and added the crewneck collar. You can’t tell, but it’s not the prettiest seam ever. I need to figure out what the best bind-off to use is when you’re going to be joining two pieces at the bind-off edge. It’s fine for this sweater, but this is a learning experience, so I’m taking notes on what to do better next time.

I added ribbing for the collar, but I’m a little concerned it might be too much ribbing. It’s an inch high, and the pattern called for 3/4″. It’s not a huge difference, but I’m trying to decide if I should go back a couple of rows or keep it as-is. I’m open to suggestion.

In other non-Jayne projects, the second Regia bamboo sock is about three quarters done. She and I had great fun at Starbucks yesterday, sitting outside in the cooler weather. I put the unfinished sock on my hand and pretended it was drinking her water and eating her food. Then I pulled out the finished sock I carry with me to check length and she put it on her own hand. We had sock fights, and after several epic battles, her sock puppet was victorious. Good times.

Emily’s continuing to enjoy Dan Gutman’s “Weird School” series. (I like the author’s rejection letters page. Persistence paid off for this guy.) We read these in bed, and she says she’ll be done reading at night when we’re doing with these books. There are, however, about 20 of these books. I want to check and be sure she’s not feeling like she has to get through them all, just for completeness’ sake. She does seem to be enjoying them, though, so I think it’s okay.

The other books she’s enjoying right now are the “Rainbow Fairy” books. There are seven, one for each color of the rainbow, so I think the series appealed to the collector in her. She’s warmed to the idea that yes, she can be reading more than one book at once. This is good, because otherwise I think she felt like she’d have to wait until we’d read all 20 of the Weird School books. We read the first chapter of Ruby, the Red Fairy yesterday, and I’m sure we’ll read another today. She’s really warmed to reading chapter books. It’s been very good for her.

In DR, I ran a merchant not long ago, and there are still a few vouchers floating around, so I need to track those down. I don’t like to leave those things hanging too long. Also, there are a couple of QCs that need my attention.

All right, I have to stop now. I’m making a crazy number of typos because my hands are cold. Must be time for cocoa! Yay!

In terms of geographic origins of hits for Jayne hats, the US is far and away the biggest country to visit http://www.wearwithstyle.com. Canada is next, with about 1/10th the hits. They’re usually neck and neck with the UK, although Canada’s ahead at the moment. Fourth comes Australia, then Norway, Germany, New Zealand, then it dwindles, with countries swapping places as there’s a flurry of Browncoat activity in any given part of the world.

But today, I got linked to in a Vietnamese craft forum. I have NO CLUE what the post says, except that it links to the Jayne hat. So today, locations like “Ho Chi Minh City” are moving up the charts. Watch your back, Brazil, you’re this close to being bumped down the Jayne hat lovin’ list!

Sorry, I’ve calmed down now. The hat thing is not a big deal. It was just a long day.

And hey, guess what brought me from Davidson? Another skein of yarn in the same color that I needed for that final sweater sleeve! Ten rows later, it’s ready to be blocked, have the collar added, and be seamed. YAY! Thank you, !

Illiane also gave me the gift that keeps on giving: by coming into my home, I was able to see it as if I were seeing it for the first time, which gives me a leg up on getting it cleaned. I’m also going to contact the fellow Browncoat for whom I’m holding some stuff and see when I can get it the heck out of my house. I’ve got enough clutter of my own, I don’t need to import more.

Hats up for: CA, UT, PA.